And then there's this: "EIFS (rhymes with knifes) suffered a bad reputation in the 1990s...". This is a new one on me - I have always heard it called "eee-fuss" (rhymes with doofus), not "ˈīfes" (or "eye-fiss", or whatever rhymes with knifes). Maybe the EIFS Industry Members Association is trying a little rebranding?

There are certainly plenty who would say that EIFS still suffers a bad reputation, though EIFS proponents chalk that up to poor installation. But therein lies the rub - anyone ready to slap up a cladding material that is less than half the cost of just about any other exterior finish is probably not springing for skilled labor to do the installation.

Which is not to say that EIFS (or DryVit, or whatever) is evil, but it is ubiquitous. Used properly, it a decent building material that can look decent too. Unfortunately, its rarely used properly - either in design or execution. Though I suppose the same could be said about charcoal-gray brick.